King Solomon, the third king of Israel, was the one God would have to build the Temple, the first permanent worship center for the Jewish people. You can read how King Solomon prepared to build the Temple and then the actual building of the Temple in I Kings 3-7

The account of Solomon's Temple, up and operating in Jerusalem, is the portion of I Kings that I've selected for today’s devotional reading. This chapter of I Kings is key to understanding the operation of the Temple and its importance in the daily life of the Jewish people.

Until Solomon's Temple the tabernacle, a transportable worship center, was used by the Lord to "dwell among His people", especially during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness and also during the first 350 years of the Jewish people living in the Promised Land.

After the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant from the Jews they kept the Ark for only seven months,I Samuel 6:1. And then for another 120 years the Ark was at a place about 15 miles west of Jerusalem.

King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem,II Samuel 6, and wanted to build a temple to house the Ark. Because of David's disobedience he was not allowed that honor; however, his son Solomon would be the one to build the temple.

David gathered the manpower, the monies and the materials for Solomon to use in the building of the temple. He even purchased the site where the temple would be erected. David paid cash money for the site of Araunah's threshing floor,II Samuel 24:24, which was on Mt Moriah, II Chronicles 3:1.

King David passed from the earth into paradise and his son Solomon, as promised by the Lord, built the first temple which took him seven years to build this "worship center" for the Jewish people,I Kings 6:38.

With the temple built, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and the heads of all the tribes of Israel for the dedication of the Temple and the placing of the "Ark of the Covenant", the Shakinah Glory, in the Holy of Holies of this "permanent worship center" of the Jewish people.

King Solomon had the Levites to bring the Ark from the tabernacle that King David had erected to house the Ark until the temple was ready. As the men brought the Ark into the Temple, into the Holy of Holies, the "glory of the Lord" filled the "house of the Lord" so that the priests could not minister.

There would be a second temple built in Jerusalem, after the Babylonian Captivity; however, the "Glory of the Lord" would not be on the Ark of the Covenant because the "Glory" departed the Ark and the Holy of Holies before the Temple was destroyed,Ezekiel 8-11.

The Ark was never again in the Temple, even during the lifetime of Jesus. The location of the Ark is known today and it will be placed in the Temple that stands on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Tribulation Period; however, the "Glory of the Lord" will not be resting on the Ark.

The "Glory of the Lord" manifested in the person of Jesus Christ will once again enter the "House of the Lord" going into the Holy of Holies and He will fill the "House of the Lord" with His glory when He comes back to Jerusalem.

Remember, the Ark will be used in the Tribulation Temple, but Jesus is the "Ark" for His Temple, a Temple where He will rule and reign from during His kingdom.